Feb. 27, Mineral Area College at Park Hills
In a come-from-behind 64-61 victory, the fifth-seeded Lady Roadrunners defeated the fourth-seeded Mineral Area College Lady Cardinals in the Region 16 quarterfinal.
SFCC started the game well leading 13-6 with about five minutes remaining first quarter. The Lady Roadrunners led 15-11 at the end of first quarter and closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 32-23 lead into halftime.
"We were shooting the ball very well," said Head Coach Kevin Bucher. "We did a nice job on defense and rebounded the ball well, so we were able to build a lead."
However, the Lady Cardinals stormed back to take a five-point lead with under a minute remaining in the final quarter. Sophomore guard Maya Brewer trimmed the deficit to four points at 61-57 with 28 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Ren'Cia Rolling trimmed the deficit to one point with a three-point shot. Freshman guard Jazzmyn Elston got a steal, was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws to give her team a one-point advantage. The Lady Cardinals turned the ball over, and another bucket from Elston sealed the victory.
"Our team feels very good about itself," said Bucher. "They did not want to lose. They wanted to keep playing. There were a lot of positives, and it was great to see. I was very happy for the whole team. Everyone played well."
Sophomore guard/forward Catie Kaifes led the Lady Roadrunners with 19 points and contributed seven rebounds and two assists. Brewer contributed 16 points, four rebounds and two assists. Elston added 14 points. Rolling added eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
March 1, Moberly Area Community College at Jefferson City, Missouri
The Lady Roadrunners saw their season end on March 1. SFCC (14-17) fell to the top-seeded and fourth-ranked Moberly Area Community College Lady Greyhounds 79-65 at Jason Gym on the Lincoln University campus in Jefferson City.
Moberly led 17-10 after the first quarter and extended the advantage to 40-29 at the half. SFCC trimmed the advantage to 47-42 at the end of three quarters.
"At halftime, we talked about getting defensive stops," said Bucher. "We didn't shoot the ball very well in the first half. We had a chance going into the fourth quarter; we just couldn't pull it off."
Brewer led her team in scoring with 15 points and tied for the team lead with sophomore centerGrace Morrow in blocked shots with three. Rolling contributed 14 points and dished out a team-high nine assists. Morrow pitched in with 12 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with Kaifes with seven.
Coach Bucher was very pleased with the efforts of his sophomores throughout their careers at SFCC.
"Our sophomores have been starters for two years," said Bucher. "It was nice to see Grace have one of her best games as a Lady Roadrunner today. She helped us tremendously on both ends of the floor. Catie, Maya and Ren'Cia were also a big part of our team for two years. These young ladies have represented State Fair the way any student-athlete should. They were great ambassadors for what we try to develop in our student-athletes at SFCC. I've been very pleased to coach these four players."
Brewer was selected to the All-Region 16 first-team along with Kaifes. Elston earned second-team honors.
Rolling was named to the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference All-Conference Women's Basketball First Team. Kaifes also earned first-team recognition. Brewer and Elston earned second-team honors.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics